Apparatus to collect used toner in a laser printer

ABSTRACT

An apparatus to collect a used toner on a photoconductive drum in a laser printer, includes: a used toner collecting bucket having a used toner entry port into which the used toner on the photoconductive drum flows; a cleaning blade installed at the used toner entry port to guide the used toner to the used toner entry port by scraping off the used toner from the photoconductive drum; and a used toner transferring unit to transfer the used toner so that the used toner accumulated at the used toner entry port is evenly distributed within the used toner collecting bucket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2003-39577 filed Jun. 18, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for collecting a usedtoner in a laser printer.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an electrophotographic printer has: a photoconductive mediumsuch as a photoconductive drum; a charging apparatus to charge a surfaceof the photoconductive drum to an electric potential of a predeterminedlevel; an LSU(Laser Scanning Unit) to scan a laser beam on the chargedsurface of the photoconductive drum; a developing unit to performdeveloping by supplying a toner to an electrostatic latent image regionformed on the photoconductive drum by the scanned laser beam; atransferring unit to transfer the toner developed on the photoconductivedrum to a printing paper; and a used toner collecting apparatus tocollect the used toner by cleaning the used toner remaining on thesurface of the photoconductive drum.

In the above construction, the used toner collecting apparatus has: acleaning blade in contact with the photoconductive drum to scrape offthe used toner on the photoconductive drum; and a used toner collectingbucket to accommodate the used toner collected by the cleaning blade. Ata toner entry port of the used toner collecting bucket, the cleaningblade is installed. The used toner collected by the cleaning blade isaccumulated at the toner entry port of the toner collecting bucket andgradually pushed into the inside of the toner collecting bucket. If thetoner collecting bucket is filled with the used toner collected in thisway, the toner collecting bucket is thrown away and replaced by a newone.

But, according to the above construction, the used toner may beexcessively accumulated between the cleaning blade and the toner entryport of the toner collecting bucket. In this case, the function of thecleaning blade deteriorates due to the excessively accumulated usedtoner, and further the used toner is not efficiently transferred intothe inside of the toner collecting bucket. Also, the toner entry port ofthe toner collecting bucket is blocked before the used toner is evenlyfilled up within the toner collecting bucket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the aboveand/or other problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an aspect ofthe present invention to provide an apparatus to collect a used toner ina laser printer, having an improved structure, capable of forciblytransferring the used toner accumulated at a toner entry port of thetoner collecting bucket into the inside of the toner collecting bucket.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inpart in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achievedby providing an apparatus to collect a used toner on a photoconductivedrum in a laser printer, the apparatus comprising: a used tonercollecting bucket having a used toner entry port into which the usedtoner on the photoconductive drum flows; a cleaning blade installed atthe used toner entry port to guide the used toner through the used tonerentry port by scraping the used toner off the photoconductive drum; anda used toner transferring unit to transfer the used toner scraped offthe photoconductive drum so that the used toner accumulated at the usedtoner entry port is evenly accumulated within the used toner collectingbucket.

Here, the used toner transferring unit includes: an eccentric shaft toperform an eccentric motion with respect to a driving axis installed, ina rotatable manner, on the used toner collecting bucket; and a paddlemember cooperating with the eccentric shaft to move the used toner atthe used toner entry port step by step into the used toner collectingbucket while reciprocating along a predetermined trajectory.

Further, the paddle member includes: an axle supporting part having acam groove in which a crankshaft is connected in a rotatable manner; apaddle front end connected to one end of the axle supporting part toscrape a toner at the used toner entry port down to a bottom of theinside of the collecting bucket while repeating a predeterminedtrajectory motion and cooperating with a motion of the axle supportingpart due to the crankshaft; and a paddle rear end connected to anopposite side of the axle supporting part with respect to the paddlefront end to scrape the used toner, moved to the bottom of the usedtoner collecting bucket by the paddle front end, step by step into thetoner collecting bucket while repeating a predetermined trajectorymotion.

It is another aspect of the invention that the paddle front end extendsby a predetermined length in a predetermined direction from the axlesupporting part so that it is spaced apart from the bottom of the usedtoner collecting bucket, and has, at its front end, a curve-shaped hookportion to scrape off the used toner accumulated at the used toner entryport.

In another aspect of the invention, the paddle rear end is formed of aplate shape so that it gradually pushes the used toner on the bottominto the inside of the used toner collecting bucket while sliding acrossthe bottom thereof, in contact with the bottom inner side of the usedtoner collecting bucket for an interval during its trajectory motion.

Also, in this case, a plurality of slots are formed, at predeterminedintervals, on the paddle rear end so that the used toner on the bottomof the used toner collecting bucket can be moved step by step.

Further, the slots are formed at a predetermined length and in adirection substantially perpendicular to a direction of the trajectorymotion of the paddle rear end.

In another aspect of the invention, a movement trajectory of the paddlemember comprises: a transferring trajectory that moves the used tonerlocated at the used toner entry port into the used toner collectingbucket while moving from the used toner entry port towards the innerdirection; and a returning trajectory that returns to a direction towardthe used toner entry port from the inside of the used toner collectingbucket after the transferring trajectory movement.

Also, in this case, the transferring trajectory of the paddle memberproceeds while the eccentric axle passes by the lowest point withrespect to the driving axis, and the returning trajectory proceeds whilethe eccentric axle passes by the highest point with respect to thedriving axis.

In another aspect of the invention, the transferring trajectorycomprises a straight line so that the paddle member can slide across thebottom inner side of the used toner collecting bucket.

In another aspect of the invention, the returning trajectory forms acircular arc of a predetermined shape so that movement is made with partof the paddle member spaced apart from the bottom of the used tonercollecting bucket.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the paddle member is installedbetween the paddle front end and the paddle rear end, and furthercomprises a sheet-type paddle part to move the used toner, transferredinto the used toner collecting bucket by the paddle front end, into atrajectory range of the paddle rear end.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the cam groove of the axlesupporting part is formed vertically at a predetermined length so thatit is closed in an upper direction and opened in a lower direction, andthe eccentric axle raises up the axle supporting part when passing bythe highest point and moves the axle supporting part horizontally whenpassing by the lowest point.

Here, the paddle member is installed so that its center of mass isbiased toward the paddle rear end with respect to the eccentric axle.

In still another aspect of the invention, the used toner entry port ispositioned on an upper part of the used toner collecting bucket at apredetermined height from the bottom thereof, and the paddle membercomprises: an axle supporting part having a cam groove with which theeccentric axle is connected in a rotatable manner, and reciprocatingalong a predetermined trajectory by the eccentric axle; a paddle frontend extending to one side from the axle supporting part, to drop theused toner at the used toner entry port down to the bottom of the innerside of the used toner collecting bucket; a sheet-type paddle installedbetween the paddle front end and the axle supporting part to move by apredetermined distance, the used toner dropped down on the bottom of theused toner collecting bucket; and a paddle rear end extending to theother side of the axle supporting part to transfer the used toner,delivered by the sheet-type paddle, step by step into the used tonercollecting bucket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an apparatusto collect a used toner in a laser printer according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an operation of the eccentric axle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 each illustrate operations of transferring the usedtoner to collect the used toner using the apparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus to collect a used toner in a laserprinter according to an embodiment of the present invention collects theused toner by cleaning the used toner remaining on the surface of aphotoconductive drum 10, which is a photoconductive medium. Such anapparatus to collect the used toner has: a used toner collecting bucket20 having a used toner entry port 21; a cleaning blade 30 installed atthe used toner entry port 21 to guide the used toner toward the usedtoner entry port 21 by scraping off the used toner from the surface ofthe photoconductive drum 10; and a used toner transferring unit 40 toforcibly transfer the used toner accumulated over the range between theused toner entry port 21 and the cleaning blade 30 into the used tonercollecting bucket 20.

The photoconductive drum 10 forms an image on its surface in the samemanner as the generally known printing method of a laser printer. Forexample, the photoconductive drum 10 is charged by a charging unit (notshown), then partially exposed to light by a laser scanning unit(LSU),and a toner is delivered to an exposed portion by a developing unitincluding a developing roller 11 so that a latent image is developedinto a visual image. The visual image prepared in this manner isdelivered to a transferring medium such as a transferring roller 13. Atthis point, the used toner that has not yet been transferred remains onthe photoconductive drum 10. Such used toner is cleaned off from thephotoconductive drum 10 by the cleaning blade 30.

The used toner collecting bucket 20 has, at its one end, a used tonerentry port 21 provided at a predetermined height, that faces thephotoconductive drum 10, and is of a closed case shape at its other end.Therefore, a bottom 23 inner side of the used toner collecting bucket 20is provided at a lower position as compared to the entry port 21. Aninclined wall 25 is provided between the used toner entry port 21 andthe bottom 23.

At the lower side of the used toner entry port 21, the cleaning blade 30is supported such that the used toner, cleaned by the cleaning blade 30,is dominantly accumulated at a front surface of the cleaning blade 30and the used toner entry port 21.

The used toner transferring unit 40 transfers the used toner accumulatedbetween the used toner entry port 21 and the cleaning blade 30 so thatthe used toner can be accumulated into the used toner collecting bucket20 in a step by step fashion. Such used toner transferring unit 40 hasan eccentric axle 41 a to perform an eccentric motion with respect to adriving axle 41, which is installed, in a rotatable manner, on the usedtoner collecting bucket 20, and a paddle member 43 to transfer the usedtoner accumulated at the entry port 21 into the used toner collectingbucket 20 while reciprocating along a predetermined trajectory withinthe used toner collecting bucket 20 and cooperating with the eccentricaxle 41 a.

The eccentric axle 41 a, as shown in FIG. 2, moves around a rotationalcenter “c” of the driving axle 41 along a predetermined circular arc.Therefore, during one time of rotation of the driving axle 41, theeccentric axle 41 a performs one stroke that sequentially passes by theforemost front point P1, the lowest point P2, the farthest rear point P3and the highest point P4.

The paddle member 43 has an axle supporting part 43 a having a camgroove 43 b to which the eccentric axle 41 a is placed in a rotatablemanner, a paddle front end 43 c extending at a predetermined shape fromone side of the axle supporting part 43 a, a paddle rear end 43 eextending toward an opposite side of the axle supporting part 43 a withrespect to the paddle front end 43 b.

The cam groove 43 b, formed on the axle supporting part 43 a, isprovided vertically at a predetermined length, and has the structurewhose upper end is closed and whose lower end is open. Therefore, if theeccentric axle 41 a is moved to the highest point P4, the axlesupporting part 43 a is raised up by the eccentric axle 41 a. Incontrast, if moved to the lowest point P2, the eccentric axle 41 a issimply lowered along the cam groove 43 b, not lowering down the axlesupporting part 43 a.

The paddle front end 43 c is integrally formed at one side of the axlesupporting part 43 a and extends therefrom, and scrapes off the usedtoner at the used toner entry port 21 while repeating a predeterminedtrajectory motion upon movement of the axle supporting part 43 a. Forthis purpose, a hook portion 43 d that is bent-shaped to scrape off theused toner is provided at the foremost front end of the paddle front end43 c.

The paddle rear end 43 e extends from the axis supporting part 43 a atan opposite side from the side in which the paddle front end 43 cextends, and is formed with a plate shape so that it sticks on thebottom 23 of the used toner collecting bucket 20. The paddle rear end 43e has a plurality of slots 43 f formed at predetermined intervals. Theslots 43 f are formed at a predetermined length in a directionperpendicular to the trajectory motion direction of the paddle rear end43 e, i.e., the direction perpendicular to the forward-backwarddirection of the paddle rear end 43 e. The paddle rear end 43 e, havingsuch construction, moves the used toner that has fallen to the bottom 23inside of the used toner collecting bucket 20 in a step by step fashionusing the slots 43 f.

Also, a sheet type paddle 44, to move the used toner that has fallen tothe bottom 23 of the used toner collecting bucket 20 from the used tonerentry port 21 due to the paddle front end 43 c into the moving range ofthe paddle rear end 43 e, is additionally provided. The sheet typepaddle 44 is installed between the paddle front end 43 c and the axlesupporting part 43 a, and pushes the used toner on the bottom 23 of theused toner collecting bucket toward the paddle rear end 43 e with itsone end contacting the bottom 23 of the used toner collecting bucket 20for a predetermined interval along the trajectory motion of the axlesupporting part 43 a.

The paddle member 43, having such a construction as described above, ismoved along a predetermined trajectory by rotation of the eccentric axle41 a. Here, the trajectory movement of the paddle member 43 is dividedinto a used toner transferring trajectory movement and a used tonerreturning trajectory movement.

The used toner transferring trajectory movement represents an intervalduring which the paddle member 43 moves while the eccentric axle 41 apasses by the lowest point P2 and reaches up to the farthest rear pointP3(shown in FIG. 4) from the state of being positioned at the foremostfront point P1 (shown in FIG. 2). During this transferring trajectorymovement, the paddle front end 43 c scrapes off the used toner T1accumulated at the used toner entry port 21 toward the inclined wall 25so that the used toner falls down to the bottom 23 of the tonercollector bucket while moving straight. Then, the sheet type paddle 44moves the used toner T2 into the used toner collecting bucket 20 so thatthe used toner T2 is positioned within the moving range of the paddlerear end 43 e by pushing the used toner T2 that has fallen to the bottom23 of the used toner collector bucket 20 from the entry side. Also, thepaddle rear end 43 e moves the used toner T3 moved by the sheet typepaddle 44 in a step by step fashion into the used toner collectingbucket 20 using the slots 43 f while performing a straight line motionat the state of being in contact with the bottom 23 of the used tonercollecting bucket 20. As described above, the transferring trajectorymovement of the paddle member 43 is represented as a straight line,since the lower end of the cam groove 43 b is open and movement of theeccentric axle 41 a is freely allowed, as is revealed in the foregoing.

In the meantime, the returning trajectory movement represents aninterval during which the eccentric axle 41 a starts from the farthestrear point P3 (shown in FIG. 4) and passes by the highest point P4(shown in FIG. 1), then returns back to the state of FIG. 2. During thatreturning trajectory movement, the paddle front end 43 c returns to theposition shown in FIG. 3 while representing an elliptical trajectory.Namely, during that returning trajectory movement, the eccentric axle 41a moves the axle supporting part 43 a, raising the same, thus the hookportion 43 d of the paddle front end 43 c is separated and moved to theupper part of the used toner entry port 21 and finally moved to theposition where the hook portion 43 d can scrape off the used toner T1once again.

Also, the end portion of the paddle rear end 43 e is in contact with thebottom 23 of the used toner collecting bucket 20 and the other portionof the paddle rear end 43 e is spaced apart from the bottom 23 of theused toner collecting bucket 20, as shown in FIG. 1, when the paddlemember 43 returns to its original position, thus the used tonertransferred to the inside of the used toner collecting bucket 20 isprevented from being transferred back to the used toner entry port 21 bythe paddle rear end 43 e.

As described above, in order to effectively transfer the used tonerwhile reciprocating along the transferring trajectory and the returningtrajectory, the paddle member 43 is installed such that its center ofmass is positioned on the paddle rear end 43 e with the eccentric axle41 abeing centered. With such construction, the paddle member 43 isalways given a gravitational force such that the paddle rear end 43 e isnaturally in contact with the bottom 23 by a seesaw operation, wherebythe used toner on the bottom 23 of the used toner collecting bucket 20is effectively transferred. Also, the paddle front end 23 c is given aforce that will float away from the bottom 23, the used toner entry port21 and the cleaning blade 30, and thus the used toner only can besmoothly scraped off from the photoconductive drum 10 withoutinterference with the used toner entry port 21 or the cleaning blade 30.

As is apparent from the foregoing, an apparatus to collect the usedtoner in the laser printer according to the present invention is capableof forcibly transferring the used toner accumulated over the range fromthe used toner entry port 21 of the used toner collecting bucket 20 tothe cleaning blade 30, into the used toner collecting bucket 20 afterthe used toner is cleaned from the photoconductive drum 10.

Also, the apparatus to collect the used toner in the laser printeraccording to the present invention is capable of uniformly accommodatingthe used toner in the used toner collecting bucket 20 by transferringthe used toner that enters the used toner collecting bucket 20, in thestep by step fashion, into the used toner collecting bucket 20, thuseffectively utilizing the space within the used toner collecting bucket20.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe appended claims and their equivalents.

1. An apparatus to collect a used toner on a photoconductive drum in alaser printer, the apparatus comprising: a used toner collecting buckethaving a used toner entry port into which the used toner on thephotoconductive drum flows; a cleaning blade installed at the used tonerentry port to guide the used toner to the used toner entry port byscraping the used toner off from the photoconductive drum; and a usedtoner transferring unit to transfer the used toner so that the usedtoner accumulated at the used toner entry port is evenly distributedwithin the used toner collecting bucket.
 2. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the used toner transferring unit comprises: aneccentric axle to perform an eccentric motion with respect to a drivingaxle installed, in a rotatable manner, within the used toner collectingbucket; and a paddle member cooperating with the eccentric axle to movethe used toner at the used toner entry port, step by step, into the usedtoner collecting bucket while reciprocating along a predeterminedtrajectory.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the paddlemember comprises: an axle supporting part having a cam groove in which acrankshaft is placed in a rotatable manner; a paddle front end to scrapea toner located at the used toner entry port down to a bottom of theused toner collecting bucket while repeating a predetermined trajectorymotion, cooperating with a motion of the axle supporting part due to thecrankshaft; and a paddle rear end connected to an opposite side of thepaddle front end with respect to the axle supporting part to scrape theused toner moved to the bottom of the used toner collecting bucket bythe paddle front end into the used toner collecting bucket whilerepeating the predetermined trajectory motion.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the paddle front end extends by apredetermined length in a predetermined direction from the axlesupporting part so that the paddle front end is spaced from the bottomof the used toner collecting bucket, and has in a front end thereof acurve-shaped hook portion to scrape off the used toner accumulated atthe used toner entry port.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the paddle rear end is formed of a plate shape to gradually pushout the used toner on the bottom of the used toner collecting bucketinto the used toner collecting bucket while sliding across the bottomthereof while being in contact with the bottom of the used tonercollecting bucket for an interval during its trajectory motion.
 6. Theapparatus according to claim 4, wherein the paddle rear end is formed ofa plate shape to gradually push out the used toner on the bottom of thecollecting bucket while sliding across the bottom thereof while incontact with the bottom of the used toner collecting bucket for aninterval during its trajectory motion.
 7. The apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein a plurality of slots are formed, at a predeterminedinterval on the paddle rear end so that the used toner on the bottom ofthe used toner collecting bucket is moved along at step intervals. 8.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of slots areformed at a predetermined length and in a direction perpendicular to adirection of the trajectory motion of the paddle rear end.
 9. Theapparatus according to claim 2, wherein a movement trajectory of thepaddle member comprises: a transferring trajectory movement that movesthe used toner located at the used toner entry port into the used tonercollecting bucket while moving from the used toner entry port to aninner direction of the used toner collecting bucket; and a returningtrajectory movement that returns to a direction toward the used tonerentry port from the inside of the used toner collecting bucket after thetransferring trajectory movement.
 10. The apparatus according to claim9, wherein the transferring trajectory movement of the paddle member isperformed while the eccentric axle passes by a lowest point with respectto the driving axle, and the returning trajectory movement is performedwhile the eccentric axle passes by a highest point with respect to thedriving axle.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein thetransferring trajectory movement comprises a straight line so that thepaddle member slides across the bottom inner side of the used tonercollecting bucket.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein thetransferring trajectory movement comprises a straight line so that thepaddle member slides across the bottom inner side of the used tonercollecting bucket.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein thereturning trajectory movement forms a circular arc of a predeterminedshape so that a movement is made with part of the paddle member spacedapart from the bottom of the used toner collecting bucket.
 14. Theapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the axle supporting part isinstalled between the paddle front end and the paddle rear end.
 15. Theapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cam groove of the axlesupporting part is formed vertically at a predetermined length and isclosed in an upper direction and opened in a lower direction, and theeccentric axle raises up the axle supporting part when passing by ahighest point and moves the axle supporting part horizontally whenpassing by a lowest point.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the paddle member is installed so that its center of mass isbiased to a side of the paddle rear end with respect to the eccentricaxle.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the used tonerentry port is positioned on an upper part of the used toner collectingbucket at a predetermined height from the bottom, and the paddle membercomprises: an axle supporting part having a cam groove in which theeccentric axle is connected in a rotatable manner, and reciprocatingalong a predetermined trajectory by the eccentric axle; a paddle frontend extending away from one side of the axle supporting part to drop theused toner located at the used toner entry port down to the bottom innerside of the used toner collecting bucket; a sheet-type paddle installedbetween the paddle front end and the axle supporting part to move, alonga predetermined distance, the used toner dropped down to the bottominner side of the used toner collecting bucket; and a paddle rear endextending from another side of the axle supporting part, to transfer theused toner, delivered by the sheet-type paddle, step by step along theinside of the used toner collecting bucket.
 18. The apparatus accordingto claim 14, wherein the paddle member further comprises: a sheet-typepaddle part to move the toner transferred into the toner collectingbucket by the paddle front end into a trajectory range of the paddlerear end.
 19. A toner removing apparatus to remove toner from a tonerimage transferring member, the toner removing apparatus comprising: atoner collecting container having a toner entry port therein to collectthe toner from the toner image transferring member; a cleaning memberpositioned at the toner entry port to guide the toner from the tonerimage transferring member through the toner entry port; and a used tonertransferring member to transfer the guided toner away from the tonerentry port and along a bottom of the toner collecting container toevenly distribute the toner therein.
 20. The toner removing apparatusaccording to claim 19, wherein the toner collecting container furthercomprises: an eccentric cam to engage with and move the tonertransferring member eccentrically within the toner collecting containersuch that the toner is guided away from the toner entry port and alongthe bottom of the toner collecting container at the same time.
 21. Thetoner removing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the used tonertransferring member comprises: a front end to scrape the guided toneraway from the toner entry port and into the toner collecting container;a rear end to evenly distribute the scraped toner along a bottom of thetoner collecting container; and a sheet type paddle member extendingfrom the toner image transferring member to move the scraped tonertoward the rear end of the toner image transferring member.
 22. Thetoner removing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the rear end ofthe toner transferring member is formed of a plate shape to graduallydistribute the used toner on the bottom of the toner collectingcontainer while sliding across the bottom thereof.
 23. The tonerremoving apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the rear end of thetoner image transferring member has a plurality of slots formed thereinto engage with and distribute the toner within the toner collectingcontainer.
 24. A toner storage apparatus to collect used toner,comprising: a used toner collecting bucket having a used toner entryport into which the used toner flows; and a used toner transferring unitthat is disposed in the used toner collecting bucket and issubstantially linearly movable along a bottom portion thereof totransfer the used toner such that the used toner that flows into theused toner entry port is evenly distributed within the used tonercollecting bucket.